Sale: CNG 63, Lot: 1321. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 May 2003.  Sold For $305. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TRAJAN. 98-117 AD. AR Denarius (3.51 gm). Struck 112-114 AD. Laureate and draped bust right / Trajan's Column. RIC II 292; RSC 558. Toned, good VF. Well-struck column. ($200)

Trajan's Column was the crowning glory of Trajan's Forum, built with the spoils of the Dacian Wars, and the last and greatest of the Imperial Fora. Covered by a continuous frieze of the war's events, the column was capped with a gilded heroic statue of the emperor, while an inscription on the base recounted the feat of engineering in the Forum's construction. After Trajan's death, the column became the repository of his ashes.